I'm sorry to say that I doubt the sincerity of your job search at least as far as "teaching English" is concerned. In fact, you've pretty much stated that the real reason you want to come to the ME is not "to teach English" but to live in a Moslem society. Therefore, please note the following:

1. London by itself has over a million Moslems currently as residents in that location. Britain as a whole, has millions more. Bottom line: if your goal is to "live in a Moslem society" as such, you can easily do that in Britain. You don't have to change continents.....just change neighborhoods. (This would also hold true in many European countries, not just Britain).

(Of course, you didn't mention where you currently live or what your nationality is or how you came to be Moslem, or how you came to "know basic Arabic. All these facts would have to be known before you likely get any piece of relevant advice. For example, are you a convert to Islam or were you born into the religion? Is one of your parents an Arabic speaker or did you just take a course somewhere?.......You don't have to answer these questions.....I'm just showing you how little we know about you which makes it difficult to guide you).

2. Like many amateur "English teachers", you believe that "teaching English" is a snap and that just about anybody can do it, regardless of training.....after all, you're a native speaker. Forgetting the academic qualifications for the moment, it's vital to understand just how exhausting teaching is.

One of the main reasons teaching in general has such a high turnover world-wide in any field is that after a year or two, one is truly exhausted. Many simply cannot continue, give up and go into something else (like selling insurance).

This would be especially true for someone like yourself who admits that you don't necessarily want to teach......you wouldn't mind doing something else. If you do not have an ardent desire to teach, give it up and try something else......now.

I've met many Muslims in the ME who have moved here (mainly from the USA) believing that the Muslims here and the society here is somehow closer to the Islamist ideal and therefore a better place to 'practice their religious beliefs'. The fact is that almost all of the Muslim males I have met in Kuwait and Oman drink alcohol excessively, use prostitutes frequently and have girlfriends as well as wives. There are also increasing numbers of abaya clad Muslim females drinking pints in the bars in Muscat, a good thing in my humble opinion. I have several Muslim friends who routinely pretend to their families that they are going to the mosque but really just hang out at the bar for a few hours and then go home. Many of them also indulge in illegal practices such as applying for housemaid visas which they then sell on via the black market.

In my experience that does not apply to converts. Some converts in fact like the KSA because of the fact that you can kneel down and pray five times a day and not look like a fool. These guys wouldn't be drinking or using prostitutes either unless I am way off on this.

I came across about a dozen or so (mostly from the US) and of that number, only 2 were pleased with the way Islam is practiced in the Kingdom. Those two were, in my opinion, more than a bit "extreme" themselves.

The others came expecting much but were disillusioned by what they found.

I've met several 'converts' in the ME and more than a few were fake, just pretending to be Muslim to try to gain some advantage in the job market. How do I know? Because some of them told me so over a pint!

Howeve I would generally agree that they may enjoy living in the home of Islam but if they are REAL converts they may not ever come across the bar scene with it's hypocrisies....

I've met several 'converts' in the ME and more than a few were fake, just pretending to be Muslim to try to gain some advantage in the job market. How do I know? Because some of them told me so over a pint!

And this gets under your skin and gives you night sweats and purple pimples on your bum because...?

I've met several 'converts' in the ME and more than a few were fake, just pretending to be Muslim to try to gain some advantage in the job market. How do I know? Because some of them told me so over a pint!

And this gets under your skin and gives you night sweats and purple pimples on your bum because...? Because I hate hypocrites?